Gio Italian Grill

Open-flame pizzas, fresh salads, and stellar entreés with a Sicilian twist set this eatery apart.

THE DISH

The vibrantly flavorful Beet & Orange Salad is a pleasant surprise from a restaurant famous for its pastas and authentic open-flame pizzas with perfectly crispy crusts. Gio’s most popular salad features mixed greens, sweet and earthy roasted beets, juicy orange segments, and fresh mozzarella, all tossed with a downright mouthwatering homemade poppyseed dressing (Did you know all their homemade dressings are now for sale?). Make it dinner-worthy by adding grilled salmon, shrimp, or chicken.

FUN FACT

The secret to some of the best pizza in the Lehigh Valley is in the sauce…and the oven…and the dough. Basically, Pizzaiolo Tony perfects every possible element to create a drool-worthy masterpiece. He uses only full-bodied and naturally sweet San Marzano tomatoes in his red sauces, he makes his pizza dough from the finest Tipo 00 flour imported from Naples, and he cooks in an open-flame oven, which emits the fierce heat necessary to lend that authentic crispy-chewy finish to every slice.

INSIDER TIP

Eat too much? Get yourself some grappa! This unique boozy Italian beverage is distilled from pomace, the grape seeds and skins leftover after grapes have been pressed to make wine. Grappa is fruity on the nose with a fiery finish and has a flavor profile similar to cognac. Many Italians sip it slowly after meals to aid digestion. Gio offers Mazzetti di Barbera & Sassicaia, made by one of the most prestigious grappa producers in Italy.